End of the Peer (Pressure)

This is a prayer request recently sent to the Morning Show:

Please pray for my daughter who is having a tough time at school. She is a great kid; respected by her peers, teachers and all adults in her life. In spite of all that, she still feels persecuted by the popular groups at her middle school. It’s tough when you’re that age not being popular or a skinny size 3. She needs to know that God’s purpose for her existence is perfect.

Does that sound familiar or WHAT?? I’m sure that this young girl feels like she’s the only one going through this. But, the fact is that Middle and High School is a tough time for most kids. Other kids can be so mean and it’s easy to start believing the ugly things being said about you.

I’m glad this girl has a mom who understands. Unfortunately, there are lots of parents who don’t take problems like this seriously, only adding to their kids feelings of isolation. But, imagine if every day, when you went to work, your coworkers made fun of you…loudly calling you names and making fun of your clothes, your hair and everything else about you. I don’t know about you…but I’d look for a new job. Our kids don’t have that option.

There is good news for this girl and others facing the same adversity. First of all, know that this will not last forever. Secondly, and most importantly, your value comes from a place much greater than the hormone-driven whims of a clique of teenage girls. Remember, you are a child of our perfect God. He makes no mistakes. He creates no “losers”. He understands your hurt and your loneliness and longs to be your refuge.

Psalm 71:1-6
1 O Lord, I have come to you for protection;
don’t let me be disgraced.
2 Save me and rescue me,
for you do what is right.
Turn your ear to listen to me,
and set me free.
3 Be my rock of safety
where I can always hide.
Give the order to save me,
for you are my rock and my fortress.
4 My God, rescue me from the power of the wicked,
from the clutches of cruel oppressors.
5 O Lord, you alone are my hope.
I’ve trusted you, O Lord, from childhood.
6 Yes, you have been with me from birth;
from my mother’s womb you have cared for me.
No wonder I am always praising you!

Please take a moment to pray today for young people feeling the pain of social rejection and bullying. Pray that they will find support from loving friends and family members and that they will discover their worth and value as children of God.

Trust and Obey!

A few weeks ago, I came across some information about something that is none of my business; something that I was not supposed to know about. The way I discovered this information was not illegal or immoral. However, I felt the Holy Spirit urging me not to allow myself to become privy to the facts in question. However, I ignored that urging and allowed my human sense of curiosity to override what I knew God was telling me to do.

Now this knowledge has become a thorn in my flesh. It has caused me to doubt the sincerity of someone who I have always believed to be a rock-solid Christian. I cannot share what I know with anyone, even for the purpose of clarification. So I’m left with all of these questions and inner turmoil, which is exactly why God didn’t want me to know this information in the first place!

The moral of this story? Disobedience never offers a positive outcome. As I mentioned earlier, the way I found this info out was not immoral, illegal or even something that is specifically mentioned as sinful in the Bible. But, I felt the Holy Spirit telling me not to move forward and I did anyway. And, the result of my disobedience has been painful.

Sometimes, I still mistakenly imagine God to be some sort of control-freak, forcing us into compliance, just because he can. But, that is so far from the truth about God’s character. God wants us to be obedient for our own good, not his. He knows the outcome of our actions and choices before we make them He knows what will result in good and what will result in bad. He has given us his Holy Spirit to direct us to make the right choices because he loves us and wants what is best for us!

The Bible says a lot about obedience. I really like these verses from Romans 6:15-16 “What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? By no means! Don't you know that when you offer yourselves to someone to obey him as slaves, you are slaves to the one whom you obey-whether you are slaves to sin, which leads to death, or to obedience, which leads to righteousness?”

Let’s choose today to be slaves to obedience.

Joy to the World!

Throughout the year, but especially at Christmas, we Christians talk a lot about Joy. We also sing about joy, read scriptures about joy and sign and send Christmas cards adorned with the word Joy. So, what’s the big deal about Joy?

It was a verse in Luke chapter 2 that caused me to dig deeper into the concept of Joy. I was reading the part of the nativity story where the Angel of the Lord announced to the shepherds the birth of Jesus, saying, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. 11Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord.”

We hear it straight from the angel’s mouth…the birth of Jesus is a cause for great joy for everyone. We certainly can all agree that being released from the chains of sin in exchange for the gift of everlasting life in heaven is worthy of our joy. So, why then, as a Christian, am I not always joyful? Shouldn’t I be walking around with a silly grin all the time, in a sort of tickled-pink trance? Of course not. Life can be tough and lots of times instead of being on top of the world, we feel like we’re bearing the weight of it. What happens to joy then?

I think the Scottish minister and author, Oswald Chambers, answered that question well when he said, “The Bible talks plentifully about joy, but it nowhere talks about a "happy Christian." Happiness depends on what happens; joy does not. Remember, Jesus Christ had joy, and He prays "that they might have my joy fulfilled in themselves."

According to Chambers, the distinction between joy and happiness means that we can have joy even at times of deep sadness. Here’s an example…a Christian diagnosed with terminal cancer is probably not happy about his condition. Yet, he remains joyful, knowing that he is still being held in the palm of God’s hand and that his soul is heading for an eternity of bliss.

In John 16, Jesus says to his disciples, “In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” Our joy is rooted in the last part of that statement…He has overcome the world.

Joy to the world!

This Little Light of Mine

Each year at Christmas, Girl Scouts from across Greensboro present an event called Candlefest as a gift to the community. The girls and their leaders line the roads at area parks with thousands of luminaries, creating a simple yet stunning visual effect. While driving along the candle-lit roadways, one can only imagine the hours of girl power that must have gone into placing each one of these hand-made luminaries, each about a foot apart, in perfect lines. The display runs for one night only and lasts until the candles burn out, which takes about 3 hours.

What a great lesson this is for the scouts who participate in Candlefest! The girls learn the value of teamwork and are given the opportunity to see, first hand, the great things that can be accomplished when people work together.

While driving through one of these presentations, I saw a powerful spiritual lesson as well. I imagined that each luminary represented a Christian. Now, each one of these luminaries on its own is nothing special. Just a small candle in stuck in some sand in the bottom of a paper bag. No big deal. But, when thousands of them are placed side by side, "nothing special" becomes spectacular. Not only were the luminaries beautiful, they also served as a guide through the park’s dark pathways.

As Christians, we have power and light, given to us as gifts from God. We’re expected to use these gifts to glorify Him. In Matthew 5:10 we’re told, “Let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.” Of course, these words are undeniably true. However, each of our lights have a limited radius. On our own, we’re just a single light flickering in the darkness. However, when we come together with other believers, standing side by side with a common purpose, our effect can be spectacular!

Whine, Cheese and Manna

I had weight loss surgery last year (the Lap-band), and as part of the recovery process I was limited to a full-liquid diet for 3 weeks. Basically, I was allowed to eat protein shakes, yogurt, chicken broth, pudding, and that’s it. It was right in the middle of this diet when the melt-down happened. My cravings for “real food” seemed too much to take, and the thought of protein shakes for another week and a half was just unbearable. I even sent a desperate email to my nutritionist to see if there was something, anything else I could eat.

However, in the midst of this meltdown, I was suddenly reminded of the Israelites. God had freed them from slavery and oppression, miraculously saved them from Pharoah’s army, and provided them with manna that fell from heaven and water that flowed from rocks. And, how did they show their appreciation to God? They complained about the manna. They gathered more than they needed. They grumbled about their circumstances.

And, you know what? That’s exactly what I was doing! In less than 2 weeks time I had gone from praising God for the opportunity to have this surgery…freeing me from my addiction to food and an unhealthy lifestyle…to griping about a short term diet designed to help me recover from surgery and have the best possible outcome. Just like the Israelites, I was complaining about the manna.

Unfortunately, it’s not the first time that I have quickly forgotten God’s blessings. How about you? Think of a time that God pulled you out of a painful situation, leaving you to jumping for joy. Are you still jumping? Maybe he provided you with a wonderful new job that now feels more like a daily grind. Perhaps it’s the spouse who God provided as an answer to your prayers. As the years have passed, are you still thanking God for him or her? How about your kids, do you spend more time complaining about them or praising God for the gift of a family?

I encourage you to take some time today look for the Manna in your life. If, you find that instead of thanking God for it, you’re complaining about it…ask Him for forgiveness. Pray that God will point out and renew your appreciation for each blessing that has fallen from heaven on your life.

A Love Transmitter

You may have heard me talk before about my mom’s hearing problem. Her hearing has been less than perfect since she was a teenager, however over the past decade it has gotten far, far worse. She uses hearing aids, but what most people don’t realize is that hearing aids amplify EVERYTHING in a person’s environment. So, if she is trying to have a conversation with someone at a restaurant, for example, her hearing aids not only amplify her friend’s voice, but also the rest of the sounds at the restaurant… clinking dishes, doors opening and closing, people talking and laughing, etc.

Fortunately, she recently got a new gadget that helps with this problem. The device has two parts, a transmitter and a receiver. The person talking to her wears the transmitter on his or her neck and my mom wears the receiver. The transmitter captures what the speaker is saying and transmits it to the receiver, which then sends the sounds directly to mom’s hearing aids.

This system has been a true God send. Recently, I attended a church service with my mom where the preacher wore the transmitter for her. I asked her afterwards if she was able to hear him. She smiled and said, “Every word!” Had it not been for the transmitter, his wonderful sermon would have been a garbled collection of sounds, all of his wisdom and insight would have been lost on her.

Did you realize that we have a wonderful message to share with the world, a message of grace and forgiveness? Indeed, we have good news, the best news of all to share with the lost. But, like the sounds my mother often hears, our words will be a garbled mess if we deliver them without love. Listen to this verse from 1 Corinthians 13 “If I speak in the tongues[a] of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal.”

Like my mom needs a transmitter to send sounds directly to her ears. Love is the transmitter that sends our message directly to others’ hearts. Pray that God will provide you with the love you need to get HIS message across.

You Have Not Because You Ask Not

A friend recently told me about an issue she has with one of her employees. Apparently, this woman, who we’ll call Jane, is a very intelligent, capable employee with lots of potential for advancement within the company. In fact, my friend has considered offering Jane a promotion several times. So what’s the problem? Jane has never asked my friend for more responsibility. If she’s interested in a promotion, she sure hasn’t let anyone know. My friend feels that if Jane hasn’t at least taken the initiative to come to her and ask about the possibility of a promotion, then she must nor really want one.

We all struggle from “request anxiety” from time to time, don’t we? Jesus knows that we do, especially when it comes to our prayer lives. He reminds us in the Gospels that it really is OK to present our requests to God…He tells us, “Keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks, finds. And to everyone who knocks, the door will be opened.”

The key phrase here is Keep On…God values persistence in our prayers, we see that time and time again in the Bible. Think of the woman who had suffered a hemorrhage for 12 years before she was healed by Jesus. Sarah was 90 years old before her prayers a child were answered. In Luke, Jesus tells the parable of the persistent widow whose request is answered by a corrupt judge only because she keeps bothering him with her pleas. Jesus ends the parable by saying, "Will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off?”

What are you seeking today? Go ahead and boldly present your requests to God, you have the Authority of Jesus to come before His throne. You have the assurance that within God’s timing and will, what you ask for will be given, what you seek will be found and the door that you knock upon will be opened.